Working Only Contract Hours: Is It Possible?
September Challenge Results
During the first month of the semester, I challenged myself to do something that, honestly, I thought was impossible. For the entire month of September, I challenged myself to only work 20 hours a week: 16 hours of actual teaching, plus 4 hours of lesson planning and admin work.
While it was just as strange as I thought it would be, as well as much harder than I thought it would be, I did succeed. But let’s answer the question we’re all thinking: Was it worth it?
Like most things, my answer to that question would be: Yes and No.
What didn’t work:
Not enough time. In all honesty, if I had done this challenge in another month, I wouldn’t have been able to make it. This semester, I have four new PowerPoints and lessons to make each week, and each of them take at least two hours to finish. During the summer, however, I was able to work ahead on some of those lessons, which helped me out immensely.
Working little by little. During the first week, I worked in 20 minute increments throughout the work. I thought this would help me not feel stressed about getting it all done at one time. In actuality, this just resulted in me constantly thinking about what I would do in my next 20 minute session all week long. When I switched to hour-long increments during the second week, I found I worked much faster and more efficiently since I was able to get more into a flow state. I also didn’t constantly have to double-check what parts of the lesson had I finished and what still needed to be done.
Not being able to work ahead. My allotted four hours got filled pretty quickly, which left me no time to work ahead. Personally, I’ve found that being able to get ahead on upcoming lesson plans helps manage my stress so well. I like knowing that I have things lined up, organized and ready for coming weeks. If an unexpected event happens, (like flying to a friend’s wedding at the last minute, which just so happened this weekend), I can rest assured that I’ll be okay for the coming work week.
What worked:
Made me more efficient. Parkinson’s law states that humans will naturally fill the time allotted for each task. In simpler terms, if you give yourself 30 to get ready in the morning, it’ll take you 30 minutes. If you give yourself an hour, however, it will take an hour. Knowing I only had an hour to make a PowerPoint gave me the extra push to be more focused and work more efficiently.
More mental space. Once I switched over to blocking out longer portions of my day to work on my lessons, I found myself relaxing. Suddenly I had full days where, after I finished work, I was able to switch off and not think about work after hours.
Helped me weed out the unnecessary. I have a tendency to waste time in the details, as well as get carried away with trying to find the most creative ideas or activities. That can be a great way to upgrade my lessons, but it’s also a giant time-suck. I mean, is spending 15 minutes choosing the perfect animation for your PowerPoint slide the best way to spend my time?
So what will I take away from this challenge?
Throughout the rest of the semester, I’m definitely going to cut down on the amount of time I spend lesson planning and doing admin work outside of class. I love how free I felt on the days I didn’t do any work after class, and I realize now how much more productive I can be during scheduled, focused work times. I am, however, going to give myself the freedom to work ahead or spend a few extra minutes making a lesson plan I’m truly proud of. Walking into class with a great lesson makes me a more confident teacher, and working ahead makes my entire life a little less stressful.